Iran, 6 powers ‘to continue contact through Jan.’

A senior Iranian diplomat says Iran and six world powers will continue their contact next week to resolve remaining issues prior to January 20, the date set to begin implementing the interim nuclear deal earlier sealed between the two sides in Geneva.

“Contacts between the two sides will continue at the political level in the course of next week and we hope, with their finalization, the first step will come into force soon,” said Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi on Wednesday.

While stating that “good progress” has been made at the expert-level talks between Iran and the six countries, Araqchi said that several issues, “on which there is no common understanding,” still remain between the two sides.

Araqchi was a member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team during the talks with the six world powers - Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany - that led to the landmark deal in November 24, 2013 in the Swiss city of Geneva.

Later, experts from Iran and the six countries launched talks to devise a mechanism to implement the interim deal. The expert-level talks concluded December 31, 2013.

Under the Geneva deal, the six countries undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period. It was also agreed that no nuclear-related sanctions would be imposed on Iran within the same timeframe.

On Wednesday, The head of Iran’s expert-level nuclear negotiating team, Hamid Baeidinejad, said Iran and the six world powers have proposed January 20 as the date to start implementing the Geneva deal.

He said the proposed date needed to be verified by the two sides’ political directors.